


Blue Flower in the Middle of the Mist

by Hitsutomo



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Genderbending, Romantic Friendship, a bit of humor?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-01-11 23:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1179228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hitsutomo/pseuds/Hitsutomo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She felt betrayed, but they never think that they've betrayed her. She wanted to help them, but they think that she's the one who need their helps.<br/>Would the blue flower still be protected by the mist? Or would someone find it and pluck it out?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's the first time I start writting again after a year, so yeah, hahaha xD And genderbend too at that D:  
> Ugh, I just hope it's not awkward *burried face on the pillow*

**  
**

_“You know that it’s useless”, his silky-like voice echoed in the small room, sending chilly feeling all through her body. “You can’t do it alone, you’ll need me”._

_Bitter smile forming on her small lips. Slowly, she turned her back to faced the guy that had been taunting her mind._

_She gave him her blank look, but her eyes radiating her anger. “We won’t know about it. I’m able to do it myself”._

_An arrogant smirk plastered on his flawless face. He took a few steps and reached out his hand, cupping her face. She flinched at the sudden contact with his cool hand, but paid it no mind. She tried her best to not showing any fear that would satisfy him._

_He leaned closer, and she could feel his hot breaths on her face. She could smell his peppermint scent from how close they were. A scent that she always longed for ever since she met him._

_“We will see about that, Tetsuya”, he whispered on her ear._

_With that, he left the room, leaving her with unspoken promise that no matter what, she will come back to his arms._

 

** Seirin High School **

Spring wind blew past her, swishing away her short blue hair. It was her first day attending Seirin High School, and many students were swarming around her. Even if she was in the middle of sea people, she went through them with ease while keeping her book in hands. Upperclassmen were trying to promote their clubs to the freshmen. But she paid them no mind because there is only one club she has in mind.

After a while, she found the club stand that she had been looking for. There were a-couple-look-like upperclassmen that waited on that stand, but they seemed to not notice her.

“Ano…” the girl tried to catch the upperclassmen attention but no succed.

Sighing, she took one of the forms that sprawled all over the table. She wrote her name, class, and her middle school name, and then put them in the stack of other registration forms and walked away.

 

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

“I bring back a freshman that want to join…”

“Is this basketball club?” a tall and huge red-haired asked while carrying an upperclassman with one hand easily.

Aida Riko stared at the red-haired freshman with shock written all over her face, while her companion, Hyuuga Junpei, was gaping at the sight in front of him. _‘Bring back? Isn’t it the other way around?’_ Hyuuga thought while shaking his head.

“Yes, we’re from basketball club~! Want to join in, right? Please sit down and fill this form while I’ll explain to you about our club~” Riko gave the freshman the application form and a cup of tea beside it.

“No need, I’ll just write down my name and get going”. The red haired freshman sat down, scribbled his name and drank the teacup that had been offered to him.

**_Name    : Kagami Taiga_ **

**_From America_ **

**_Reason to join the club :_ **

Riko and Hyuuga scooted closer to see what the red haired write.

After he finished writing his registration form, Kagami stood up and ready to leave. But Riko’s voice halted him.

“Wait, you didn’t write your reason to join the club?”

“No need. Japanese basketball is all the same anyway”. With that he left the basketball club’s seniors gaping at him.

“He’s so big! And with that aura, he really looks like a tiger,” commented Izuki Shun, staring at Kagami’s back.

“Waaaahhh!!! Izuki, Tsuchida, Mitobe, you scums! You guys escaped leaving me alone while that freshman carried me up!” Koganei Shinji wailed. Izuki just ignored him, while Tsuchida and Mitobe gave him sheepish smiles.

“That freshman, Kagami Taiga, a returnee from America. He must be good seeing that he learned from the best place” Hyuuga peeped in. He scratched his head, taking a look at Kagami’s registration form.

Sighing, Riko stood up and gathered the registration forms that sprawled all over the table. “Well, at least we got 10 freshmen that interested to join in. Let’s go back”.

“Hey Riko, you forgot about this one,” said Koganei giving Riko a resignation form that left out on the table.

“Oh? I didn’t know about this one”. She received the form and scanned it. Her eyes widened when she take a look at what’s written on it. “WHAAATT??!!”

Sensing something’s weird, Hyuuga took the form from Riko’s hand. “What is it? Why are you so surprised?”

The other seniors that got curious also scooted closer, checking the form, and they got the same expressions as Riko’s. “WHAAATT???!!! HOW? WHEN?”

**_Name    : Kuroko Tetsuya_ **

**_From Teikou Middle School_ **

“If he’s a freshman, than that means, he’s one of Generation of Miracles?” Hyuuga managed to ask after he took some breaths.

Riko looked frustrated. She really didn’t remember anyone that filled this form. “Why I can’t remember it??? I have been waited here all the time but I don’t remember someone filled this form!!!”

“It looks like we really got amazing freshmen this year,” Izuki mumbled in awe.

Evil smile appeared on Riko’s face. Oh, how she really like this situation. Well, they could meet their awesome freshmen at afterschool practice tomorrow.

 

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Kuroko was preparing herself for the first basketball practice that they’d be having today. She was already clad in her loose white T-shirt and blue basketball shorts. She let her blue shoulder length hair loose untied, and she was having a dilemma whether she should appear as a girl or pretend as a boy seeing that the club she was joining is a boys basketball after all. Back in her middle school, she didn’t need to think about this because all of her teammates trusted her skill and accepted her in their circles.

The thoughts about her old teammates saddened her.

Getting rid of that thought immediately, she shook her head and reached out for something in her bag.

 _‘Better be prepared first’_ she thought, putting on a short guy’s style blue-haired wig on her head. _‘Ah, I also have to deepened my voice whenever I speak’._

After wrapping white linen to her chest to make it look flat, she got out of the bathroom with a new determination on her blank face.

 

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

“Now, take off your shirt!” Riko commanded to the freshmen in front of her.

“EEEEHHH???!!!!”

All of the freshmen paled. Of course they were, who wouldn’t if a girl ask you to take your shirt off in front of her.

“Just do it, idiots. She’s our coach afterall,” the glasses captain said. He, afterall, knows Riko’s ability to scan people’s ability charts just by looking at them. It would help her to make a perfect training menu for them.

The freshmen complied and took off their shirts so that Riko could start her scanning. She stared at them while giving comments of what they’re leaking off here and there. But when she reached the tall red haired freshman, all she could do was gaping at the sight in front of her.

_‘Bloody hell! I’ve expected that this Kagami is good, but this chart… He’s a monster!’_

“Coach!” Hyuuga’s voice brought her back from her inner world.

“Ah, eeerr.. Okay, it’s enough. You can put on your shirts”. Riko checked her clipboard on her hand, making sure that all of the freshmen are here already. “Hmmm… It seems that Kuroko-kun is not here yet. Maybe he’ll come around tomorrow?”

“Ano… I’m here” a voice suddenly spoke up from beside her.

“KYAAAAA!!!!!” Riko screamed, stepping back. “Since when you’re here? Who are you???”

“I’m Kuroko Tetsuya, and I’ve been here since the start”.

The seniors were looking at her curiously, but Riko only narrowed her eyes.

“Are you trying to deceive me?” She gritted her teeth, annoyed.

Nervousness formed in Kuroko’s chest, but she tried to dismiss it. Her disguise couldn’t be found out this soon. She masked her nervousness with her calm façade. “What are you talking about?”

Riko reached out and grasped Kuroko’s wig, pulling it off. “YOU are a GIRL! Did you think you can deceive my eyes??!!”

Everyone gasped while Kuroko could only sighed. She didn’t expect to have a coach that have sharp eyes like Riko.

“What? He’s a girl?”

“Wait, she’s that Teikou’s guy, right?”

“What is a girl doing here?”

“CALM DOWN!” Hyuuga shouted. As a captain, he had to clear this misunderstanding. So he faced the blue haired girl, that he thought look cute enough after he looked much closer. “So, you’re Kuroko Tetsuya?”

“Yes, I am”

“You were attending Teikou before, right? Are you joining to become a manager?” Hyuuga asked again.

“Yes, and no. I’m joing to become a player”

Everyone sweat dropped. How in the world a girl joining a boys basketball club to become a player? Riko seemed to having a thought on her own, Kagami looked annoyed, while the rest looking and gaping at Kuroko.

Kuroko sighed. She really didn’t like if someone misunderstand her, but she could understand because it’s so rare for a girl to playing in a boys basketball club, although there’s no rule that against it.

 _‘A girl basketball player from Teikou? I think I’ve heard about it before’._ Riko tried to grasp what’s the nagging feeling that she felt at the moment.

Izuki joined in Hyuuga to confront the blue haired girl, because it seemed that his bestfriend getting confused to what should he do. “But Kuroko-chan, have you played basketball before?” he asked with a smile, hoping that he could knock some sense to the girl.

“Yes, I have. And I’ve played in some matches at middle school before,” Kuroko responded still with her deadpanned face.

“WHAAATTT??????”

Hearing it snapped Riko from her thought. Shock written all over her face. _‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it! Why that thought didn’t acquire to me before?!’._ She looked at the other female inside the gym. Excitement running through her veins. _‘She… I thought it was just a rumour, but she’s here in front of my eyes! The only female player from Teikou, one of Genereation of Miracles, the one that got respected by the other GoM members, the phantom sixth player, Kuroko Tetsuya’._

It seemed Riko was not the only one who recognized the blue haired girl, realization seemed to hit Izuki too.

“Wait, Kuroko-chan, you… You are the phantom sixth player, right? One of Generation of Miracles?” asked Izuki carefully.

Many gasps can be heard inside the gym. Everyone stared at Kuroko with disbelieves on their faces, well except Kagami, he looked confused and lost.

Sighing for nth times already, she nodded, confirming their suspicions.

With that confirmation, no one could say anything. They were too shocked that someone like Kuroko would into a new built school like Seirin.

Riko grinned madly. She stepped forward, and putted her hands on both of Kuroko’s shoulders. “Welcome to Seirin High’s Basketball Club, Kuroko-chan~”.

 

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

He carried his tray full of burgers and sat down on one of the seats in the side of Maji Burger. After learning about Generation of Miracles, he felt so excited. If he knew that there were monsters like them in his year, he would join basketball club as soon as possible. Waiting is impossible for him. He really want to face them soon.

Taking a bite of his burger, he realized there was a presence in front of him and chocked on his food.

“GAAAAHHHH!!!!”

“Good afternoon, Kagami-kun. You’ve got a big appetite, I see,” greeted Kuroko while sipping on her vanilla milkshake.

“Since when were you here? Get off! This is my seat!”

“I’ve been here since the start. I like the vanilla milkshake here, this is my usual hangout place”.

“If people see us together, they’d think that we’re a couple or something”

She paused for a moment. “That’d be scary”. And she continued sipping her milkshake calmly.

“AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT???!!!” he shouted, but the blue haired girl still didn’t bother to move. With a sigh, Kagami continued on his meal.

He studied the girl in front of him. She looked nothing like a person that used to be in a team full of monsters. _‘But if she was one of them, she must be good, right?’_.

“Hey, Kuroko, I’ve heard about Generation of Miracles. You’re one of them right?”

“I don’t like to be referred as one of them, but unfortunately I am”

“Then you must be good! Let’s play one-on-one!” Kagami asked, feeling excited again.

Kuroko stared blankly at him, but then her attention got back to her vanilla milkshake, “I don’t want to, it’d be troublesome”.

“Come on!!! Just play one game!”

“No”.

“Gaaahhh, you’re no fun!”. Kagami leaned back to his seat, grumbling.

“Even if I play against Kagami-kun, I’ll lost for sure. I’m not a type of player like Kagami-kun, I’m a shadow”.

“A shadow? What do you-..”

 ** _“You’ve got a mail, you’ve got a mail!”_** a voice cutted Kagami’s sentence.

The blue haired girl reached into her bag, pulling out a light blue phone.

“Is that your phone?”

“Yes”. She flipped open her phone and looked into her new mail.

**_From     : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject : First Practice_ **

**_Tsuya-chan, how’s the first afterschool practice today? It must be fun, ne~?_ **

Smiling, she replied immediately.

**_To           : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject : Re:First Practice_ **

**_It was quite a hectic, but I think I could manage_ **

“Is that your boyfriend?” asked Kagami curious, seeing that the usual expressionless girl in front of him smiled at the text.

“No, of course not” she anwered, while seeing the immediate reply.

**_From     : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject : Re:First Practice_ **

**_Lol xD That’s my Tsuya-chan! \\( ^ o ^ )/_ **

Her smile widened and she shutted her phone back. “Sorry for the disturbance”.

“Not really” he shrugged.

But when she was about to put her phone back to her bag, her phone was ringing, signaling she got a phone call. She looked at the caller ID and froze. There, a person that she avoid the most, was calling her. She ignored the call and put her phone back to her bag.

“You aren’t gonna take that call?”

“No. It’s not important anyway”.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaaaayyy~  
> I've updated chapter 2 :3  
> thank you for those who have take their time to read this story. enjoy the reading~

 

It was raining heavily that afternoon after school, so Seirin’s basketball club decided to having a match between seniors and juniors for their first official practice. Most of the juniors looked nervous, fidgeting here and there. Well, except two of them though.

“FINALLY! I CAN PLAY BASKETBALL!!!!” screamed Kagami Taiga, feeling excited. He clenched both of his fists to held back his so much excitement that running through his veins.

“You really are a basketball-idiot, Kagami-kun,” a voice suddenly could be heard from below him.

“GAAAAHHH!!!!”. Startled, Kagami stepped back and tripped on his own leg, making him fell back.

Kuroko just looked up to see the red-haired fell, her hands still fumbling to tie her shoelaces. Her usual deadpanned expression plastered on her face, but there was a bit amusement in her eyes.

 Kagami immediately stood up, glaring down at the only female player. “You did that in purpose, didn’t you, Kuroko???!!!”

Trying hard not to laugh, Kuroko looked back to her shoelaces, hiding a small smile that appeared on her lips. “Of course not, Kagami-kun. It’s not my fault at all that Kagami-kun didn’t notice my presence”.

“You…” he hissed, but then his face brightened up, as if he realized something that made him happy. “Well, today I can see how strong you are, one of the Generation of Miracles! You can give all of your best, but I’m sure no one can beat me!” he grinned and left her to do some warming up.

**_“I can’t wait to see how strong they are, Tetsu! But I’m sure that at the end, I’ll always win!”_ **

Kuroko scowled when she suddenly remembered one of her former teammates. She missed them dearly, but she also hated them. Anger started to filling her up, but she suppressed them back. It was no use for her to be angry with them when they didn’t know what they have done. She’d just show it and rub it to their faces.

“I can see dark aura looming around you in this gloomy day. Are you angry?”. Someone patted her head and sat down  beside her.

Annoyed, Kuroko grabbed that hand away from her head. “I’m not angry at all, Izuki-senpai, but I’ll be if Senpai pat me once again. I’m not a pet” told Kuroko with her flat tone.

Izuki only chuckled while Kuroko went back fumbling with her shoelaces. The laces kept getting loose whenever she tried to tied them and it almost make her snap. Almost.

“Took you long enough to tie that laces”. Izuki reached down and took the laces from her grasp, tying them securely. “Okay, it’s done. Join the others and do some warming up”. He patted her one last time before joining the other seniors.

She touched her head, still felt annoyed, but muttered a soft thank you under her breath and joined the juniors for warming up.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

The practice match went smoothly, with the juniors on the lead in the middle of second quarter. With Kagami’s over-powered dunks, they scored points easily. But then at the beginning of third quarter, the seniors team started to show their skills and coordinators, closing the gap between their points. The juniors couldn’t keep up with their seniors play, except for Kagami. And because of that, the seniors reached up on the lead in the middle of third quarter.

It surely made the juniors doubting their skills. They weren’t sure if they could keep up much longer.

“I think it’s useless, our seniors sure are strong. We won’t win even with Kagami’s dunks. I wanna give up…” said one of the juniors, Furihata Koki.

As hot-headed as ever, Kagami saw red on his eyes and snapped at the other juniors. “Give up?! You want to give up?! GIVE UP IS ONLY FOR WEAKLINGS, YOU SCU-.. GYAAAAAAAAA!!!!”. His shouting was cutted off because Kuroko tackled his knees with hers.

“Please refrain your anger, Kagami-kun”

“Shit, Kuroko!!! What the hell is that for, huh???!!! And where were you this long??? I didn’t see you at all during the match!”

Riko, who was watching their banter, just realized that she also not noticing Kuroko at all during the match, even if she was the judge. _‘That’s right, I didn’t see her at all until now. Where was she all this time?’_

“I’m in the court all the time, but yeah, I didn’t do much all this time, sorry. I’ll make up for it. But first, you have to apologize for snapping at them, Kagami-kun”. Kuroko nodded to the other juniors while pulling her black wristbands on place.

Kagami slumped down, but did it anyway. “Yeah, right, sorry…”

“I-It’s okay! It’s m-my fault too, whined li-like that,” stuttered Furihata.

Kuroko tied her short blue hair into a high-ponytail. Some of her front-hair framing her face, so that people could see her face clearer. She turned her gaze to the other juniors, making them blushed a bit because they all realized how cute she was.

“Please pass the ball to me”

“E-Eh?”. The juniors could only stared at her, curious.

Sighing, she stepped back into the court without glancing back. “Just trust me”.

Kagami grinned madly, understanding that the girl in front of him would be showing some or all of her capabilities. “Show me what you’ve got, Kuroko!”

She saw the juniors stepped back into the court, and noticed that something would be happened. _‘It maybe become more interesting’._

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Strange passes started to appear in the middle of third quarter. One second that the seniors succeed to steal the ball, seconds later the ball disappeared from their grasp, coming back to the juniors. It was as if something or _someone_ kept avoiding them to take the ball.

“YOSHAAAAA!!!”. Kagami dunked again after receiving the ball that came out of nowhere.

Hyuuga didn’t believe that they couldn’t steal the ball from the juniors. His friends also kept saying that the ball disappeared from their sight. It made him more frustrated because he didn’t know what was going on.

“Izuki! Why did you pass the ball to Kagami!!!” shouted Hyuuga.

“I wasn’t, Hyuuga! Like I said, the ball disappeared when I passed it to you and Kagami got it instead. And where the hell is the junior that you’re marking?”

He looked down and realized that Kuroko disappeared again from his marking. _‘Where the hell does she disappear again??? Shit! Don’t tell me,’_.

Furihata passed the ball to Kuroko, that had stood in the middle of the court, and she swung her left hand, making fast pass to Kagami who immediately dunked it into the ring.

_‘Misdirection?!’_ Riko stared wide-eyed at the strange phenomenon in the court. _‘Diverting people focus to something else beside herself so that she’ll look like disappear. This technique usually used by magician for their magic tricks. I can’t believe she use it in the court’._ Her gaze then shifted into the only female player in the court. _‘She really is brilliant, the phantom sixth player of Teikou’._

Only mere seconds until the end of fourth quarter, Kuroko dribbled alone to the ring while her other teammates were marking their seniors.

“Go, Kuroko!!!” one of the shouted.

She reached the ring and preparing for a shoot. Holding the ball with both of her hands, she bend her knees and jumped, shooting the ball to the ring.

_‘This is it, the phantom sixth player’s shoot!’_ everyone thought while seeing how the shoot of one of Generation of Miracles would be.

But alas, instead of going into the ring, the ball hitted the ring and bounced back. Kuroko only tilted her head. “Ah, I missed again…” she claimed out loud. Everyone that saw that sweatdropped, not expecting that she’d missed.

“Really…”

Kagami jumped and dunk the ball into the ring. “If you shoot the ball, make sure that it’d go in!” he shouted at Kuroko, grinning.

And with that last dunk, the juniors won that day’s practice match.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

“Kuroko-chan, you’re going back now?” asked Koganei, seeing the blue-haired girl had came out from her curtain, clad in her school uniform.

Because Kuroko was the only female player in the team, she had to share the changing room with everyone with only curtains that separated her side with the boys. Kuroko didn’t mind at all, even when she saw the half naked boys changing clothes. It seemed that she had been used to it.

“Yes. I have an appointment with someone, so I better be off now,” she answered, pulling off the ribbon that she had used to tie her hair.

“Okay, be careful on the way. Nice work today,” said Hyuuga with a soft smile to their female player.

Kuroko bowed and prepared to leave the changing room. But something thrown to her and she reflex to caught it. She looked at a bottle of energy drink that had been thrown at her and turned her blank gaze to Kagami, who smirked at her with the same energy drink in his hand.

“Take it, you deserve it”

She nodded and smilling a little, before disappeared out from the changing room.

“Is it just me or I saw Kuroko smiled?”

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

She walked along the street full of people, with her bag on her left hand and her phone on the other. Slipping past throng of people, she managed to keep her phone on her hand.

“I told you that I’m on the way there”

**“But, Tsuya-chan, I’m so bored already. I’ve been waiting for you all day!”** whined someone on the other side of her phone.

“Today is our club’s first practice afterschool, remember?”. She reached hospital and got in.

**“Oh yeah, that’s right! How was it? It was fun, ne~”**

“It was…” she paused for a while, recognizing someone that she really didn’t want to meet at all. Hurriedly, she got into the lift, hoping that person didn’t see her.

**“Tsuya, what’s wrong?”**

“Nothing, Senpai. I’ll tell you later. I’m in the lift already”

**“If you say so. Come, hurry~!”**

The lift had reached her destination floor. Putting her phone back to her bag, she got out of the lift and walked down the corridor, until she reached a room. She knocked for a while, letting the patient knew her presence.

“Come in” a voice said from inside the room.

She opened the door and saw a certain brunette sitting on the bed near the window. He had tall and big figure, a figure that’s so fit for athletes, but he also had warm brown eyes. He was smilling at her, gesturing her to sit down beside him.

“Finally! I thought it’d be forever until you reach here, Tsuya-chan~” the brunette exclaimed, putting his black phone on the drawer beside him.

“I told you already, Kiyoshi-senpai, I had practice” she scolded, but a smile forming on her face. She sat down on the chair beside his bed. “How was your day, Senpai? You didn’t sneak out from your room, did you?”

He only laughed for his response. Really, even if he told her he didn’t, she’d still know that he did sneak out from his room.

“Senpai…”

“Teppei-kun, I come to take some checking” A nurse came in, cutting off whatever Kuroko was about to say.

“Ah, Kirisawa-san! Thank God, you just saved me from Tsuya’s lecture time!”. Kiyoshi chuckled, making Kuroko glaring daggers to him.

But then Kuroko shook her head, and smile politely at the nurse. “Good afternoon, Kirisawa-san”.

The older female noticed Kuroko and smiled back at her. “Ara~ Tsuya-chan is coming again today! I’m still doubting that you two aren’t going out~”.

“Kirisawa-san, we’ve told you many times that we aren’t. Tsuya is a cute sister of mi~ne,” Kiyoshi answered with mocking pout on his face.

“Hai, hai, I believe you~ Now, give me your hand, Teppei-kun”. The nurse took Kiyoshi’s arm and began the checking.

Kuroko only smiled seeing the nurse did her checking. She met Kiyoshi about two years ago at the basketball court in the street. He helped her when someone bumped into her and making her vanilla shake poured all over her uniform. Kiyoshi lent her his shirt so that she didn’t have to wear drenched uniform all the way to her house. Ever since then they met regulary and became friends. She told him many things, about basketball, her teammates, and many other things. He also told her everything, about his school, his new-formed basketball club, and so on. Even when he was injured in the middle of the match in his freshman year, Kuroko diligently came to visit him at the hospital.

Kiyoshi was like a brother to her, a place that she could poured down all of her emotions. That’s why Kiyoshi was the only one who knew everything about her, even better than her own family. He also knew about her former teammates, and why she hated them so much. Kiyoshi was the one who informed her about Seirin beforehand, and he’s also the reason why she went to Seirin.

“Okay, I’m done with the checking. I’ll leave you two lovebirds now~” she teased them and out of the room quickly.

“Haa… Kirisawa-san is always like that,” he chuckled. Kuroko giggled too, used by the antique of the older female. “Ne, Tsuya-chan, come come sit here~”. Kiyoshi patted on the space on his bed.

“Senpai, I can’t sit on patient’s bed. Besides, I’ve enjoyed sitting on this chair already”

“Aaaawww, Tsuya~~ Come on, sit here besides Onii-chan~”

But then Kuroko’s phone rang loudly, indicating an incoming call. She reached inside her bag and pulled out her phone. Seeing the caller id, she sighed loudly. Kiyoshi saw her expression and could tell immediately who was calling her.

“Is it _him_ again?” he asked. His playful expression gone, replaced with seriousness.

“Yes. _He_ called me many times everyday, even after I ignored it all the times. At this rate, I won’t be surprised if someday I’d find _him_ waiting in front of my house…”

“Give the phone to me, Tsuya”

“What do you want to do about it? Don’t tell me you’re going to answer it”. She handed her phone to Kiyoshi. Not really caring what the older male would do with it.

“Of course not”. He plugged out the battery, making the ringing sound died down abruptly. After satisfied with the silent phone, he smiled again and patted his bed again, signaling Kuroko to come sit beside him. “Now, come here, Imouto. Give Onii-chan a story to tell~”.

Shaking her head, she finally gave in and sat on the bed beside him. “Okay. What story should I tell you, now?”

“Tell me how was your first practice going~”

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Kiyoshi finally let her go after she convinced him many times that she had to get home already. She didn’t really mind staying at the hospital though, she sometimes staying over there, but she had homework that she had to submit the next day and she was sure she wouldn’t be able to finish it if she stay beside Kiyoshi.

Kuroko got out from the hospital, ready to coming back home. But she halted her steps when she saw someone leaning on the hospital gate. His eyes pierced sharply to her.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come out, Kuroko. It has been a while”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh, who's waiting Kuroko in front of that hospital? xD


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

“It has been a while, Kuroko”

Kuroko froze. She did see him when she just got into hospital earlier, but she didn’t expect that he knew she was there and waited for her to come out. Panic started to creep into her system. She really didn’t want to meet any of her former teammates at the moment, including this one. What had they done hurt her so much, and she wasn’t ready to face any of them. Taking a deep breath, she tried hard to compose herself.

“Long time no see, Midorima-kun”. Kuroko nodded at him.

He nodded back at her, then adjusted his glasses to keep it in place. A blue napkin, his lucky item for the day, clutched tightly on his bandaged fingers.

“I see you’re still coming here, Tetsuya. It’s a good thing that my dad called me to come over today and I happened to saw you earlier. So I thought that I better wait for you, not that I missed you or something,” he muttered the last part quietly, but Kuroko heard it and decided to just ignore his tsundereness.

“Ah, I forgot to greet Uncle Keniichi at my visit today. I hope he doesn’t get mad”

Midorima’s father, Midorima Keniichi, was the owner of that hospital. He also specialized in bones and muscles structure, and happened to be Kiyoshi’s doctor.

“Of course he won’t, he will never get mad at you. But he does hoping that you’d come over for dinner sometimes. He and my mother. Mother always asking for you and gets worried often”

“I’m really sorry for that. Please tell Aunt Yoshino that I’m fine, Shin-kun”

“Hn”

Awkward silence filled between them. Neither knew what to say to each other. Sure, they were childhood friends, their families knew each other well, and both Kuroko and Midorima enjoyed each other company so much. But ever since Kuroko’s resignation from basketball club at their middle school year, their friendship became awkward. MIdorima because he didn’t know why Kuroko resigned from the club after their final match and choose no-name school like Seirin for her high school. Kuroko because she felt betrayed by him for taking the others side instead of her and took part hurting her feeling, even in the slightest.

Sadness began to creeped its way into her heart again, but she shook it off immediately. She didn’t want to break down in front of anyone, especially her former teammates, even if it was her childhood friend. But unfortunately for her, he saw that sadness in her eyes.

“Tetsu-…”

“SHIN-CHAN!!! ARE YOU DONE YET? CAN WE GO HOME NOW?”. A loud voice boomed startling them, breaking the tense air around them.

Takao Kazunari pedaled what seemed like a rickshaw to approach his current teammate. He was waiting for Midorima in front of the hospital because the glasses teen said that he needed to see his father. After such a really long time, Midorima still didn’t come out and Takao got frustrated. He really wanted to go home and rest, after all they were just going back from their afternoon practice.

“Shin-chan…. How cruel of you? I’ve waited for hours and-… Ara?” his rant stopped when he realized there was a girl beside his green-haired teammate.

Out of reflex, Midorima stepped forward so that Kuroko couldn’t be seen and faced Takao. He knew that his childhood friend didn’t like to be seen whenever she was feeling distraught. “Takao, you can go home now. I still have something to do”.

“Eh? But that girl-“

“None of your business”. Midorima dragged Kuroko away with him, leaving Takao behind. He needed to know what had caused her feeling this despair. He had been avoided it for too long, so he would be there for her now.

“SHIN-CHAN!!!!!!” Takao’s wails faded as they took more steps away.

“Are you sure your friend would be okay?” asked Kuroko. She knew that Midorima would question her about many things, and she was hoping to get away from him.

“I don’t care. All I care now is how to make you answer all of my questions”.

After walking for quite a while, they finally reached a small basketball court beside the hospital. The court seemed nice, and fortunately for Midorima, no one used that court at that moment. He sat on one of the benches there and motioned Kuroko to sit beside him. Knowing that there was no way to escape anymore, she sat down quietly.

Midorima took a good look on the girl next to him. She seemed better than the last time he saw her. When she told him about her resignation back at middle school, she looked so vulnerable and exhausted. Her eyes full of sorrow and forlorn, that he couldn’t help but worried for her. He tried to reach for her, wanting to help her for ease. But she pushed him away, telling him that he couldn’t help her if he was one of the reason that hurted her. He didn’t know what she meant by that, and abandoned her because of his ego. He let her away, even if he knew she needed someone by her side. He felt so bad, and he wanted to repair his mistake now.

“You haven’t answered any of _his_ calls,”. _‘Okay, that’s a bad thing to ask first’_ Midorima thought because as soon as he let that words out, Kuroko’s posture stiffened.

“If you talk to me because of _him_ , then I’ll take my leave now”. She got up and turned her back to leave, but Midorima caught her arm, not letting her to go.

“No, don’t. I’m sorry that I brought that up, but _he_ ’s getting impatient that you didn’t answer any of _his_ call, Tetsuya. You know how _he_ is, especially if it’s related to you”.

“So what? _He_ doesn’t own me, Shin-kun. It’s up to me that whether I want to answer or not,” she answered while trying hard to kept her composure to not breaking down in front of the bespectacled teen.

“Then answer me this, what happened in our last year back in middle school? Why did you resign from the club? Why.. Why you said that it was all _our_ fault?”

Silence was all he got for his answer. Kuroko had looked away from him, so he couldn’t read any of her emotions. But he could see Kuroko’s body shook a bit. Knowing that his childhood friend were trying hard to keep strong, Midorima putted both of his hand on her shoulders and forced her to turn around to face him. True enough, even though Kuroko hide her face with her bangs, he recognized her eyes that glistened with tears. Midorima quickly gave his blue napkin for his lucky item that day to her, which she accepted hesitantly.

“Tetsuya… Look, I don’t know what my fault is, but I’m sorry. It’s not that I’m worried about you or anything, but-…”

“If Shin-kun wasn’t worried about me, then Shin-kun doesn’t have to apologize to me,” Kuroko cutted  in. Her tone filled with mock sadness.

“It’s-… It’s not like that!”

Kuroko smiled when she saw Midorima stumbled with his words. She always knew that he’s a tsundere, even though he sometimes said something cold, he actually cared a lot.

“Yes, yes, Shin-kun. I understand that Shin-kun can’t help but being tsundere”.

“I’m not a tsundere!” Midorima denied with red face while Kuroko chuckled softly.

“I’m sorry, Shin-kun, but it’s late already and I’m tired. I’d like to go home now. Maybe we will continue our talk later?”

“You’re right. I’ll escort you to your house then”.

“No, Shin-kun. I’m okay by myself”.

“I insist”.

Kuroko sighed and let Midorima dragged her home. She looked into their interwined hands and smiled happily. At least, she got her childhood friend back to her, although he still didn’t know his own fault. But he had apologized to her, so she would forgive him. Just him though, because Midorima was such a good friend since they were child. And Kuroko would guide him so that he would be back to Midorima Shintarou that she had known since a long time ago.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

The trip to Kuroko’s house was filled with silence. Neither of them said anything to each other, but it was fine for them. The silence was comfortable, and just being in the other’s presence was nice enough.

When both of them arrived in front of Kuroko’s house, they saw a blue haired male came out from blue Mitsubushi Lancer Evolution X MR that was parked outside the house. The said male looked like in his early twenty.

“Ah, you’re home already, Onii-sama,” greeted Kuroko to the blue haired male.

The blue haired male looked up and smiled at Kuroko and Midorima. He walked into the gate and approached both of them.

“Yes, Tetsuya, I finished work early today. And thank you for bringing my sister home, Shintarou. Would you like to join us for dinner?”

“Thank you, Touya-nii san, but I really have to go home now before Mother gets worried. Mother and Father would really like it though if both you and Tetsuya will come over for dinner sometimes,” answered Midorima politely.

“We would love to. I’ll let you know if Tetsuya and I can come to visit. Please give my regards to Uncle Keniichi and Aunt Yoshino, Shintarou”.

“I will. I better take my leave now, I’ll see you around, Tetsuya?”

“Of course, Shin-kun. Just message me”.

With that Midorima nodded to the siblings and walked away to get home. Kuroko waved a bit and turned around to her brother, who beckoned her to get inside.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Kuroko Touya was a smart and responsible young man. At his 22, right after he graduated from university, he took over all of his parents business in Japan, while both of his parents managed their business overseas. Even if he was swarmed with load of works as a young entrepreneur, he always prioritized his family first. That was why he took a great care of his only sister while both of their parents away, with only one maid in their house. He really loved his sister, and would listen to everything she said even if he was in the middle of his work. That was also why he knew everything that going on with his sister.

“I’m glad that you’re talking to Shintarou again,” said Touya when he saw his sister came out from her room, clad in fresh white shirt and a pair of red plaid shorts.

Kuroko sat on the sofa beside her brother, who was sorting his paperworks. She picked one of them and scanned its content.

“He waited for me outside the hospital while I was visiting Kiyoshi-senpai and demanded to talk to me”.

“It went well then?”

She nodded and gave the paperwork back to her brother.

“How is Kiyoshi?”

“He’s fine. Uncle Keniichi said that his therapy went smoothly and he could go back to school soon”.

“It’s good. Say, Tetsuya, you haven’t talked to _him_ ever since that time, right?”

“No, I always avoid his calls. What’s wrong, Onii-sama?”

Touya took a deep breath. He really didn’t want to upset Tetsuya, knowing that she didn’t want to care about anything related to _him_. But his sister had to know what happened, for Touya didn’t want to keep any secret from her.

“ _He_ called me when I was still at work this afternoon asking for you. I told _him_ that if you don’t want to talk to _him_ , then so be it. _He_ sounded reluctant though, but I can’t be sure”.

“Mmmm… I see…”

“You can’t avoid _him_ forever, Tetsuya. You have to face _him_ sooner or later. Just prepare yourself”.

“Yes, I know. Thank you, Onii-sama,” answered Tetsuya softly. She was still contemplating how would she react when the day she would meet _him_ come.

Seeing this, Touya’s gaze softened and he pulled his sister to his embrace.

“I know it would hard for you, Tetsuya. But you’re my sister, and I’m sure you’d be fine”.

She nodded again, burying her face into her brother’s chest.

“Touya-sama, Tetsuya-sama, dinner is ready,” called their only maid, Hotaru, from the dining room.

“Come on, Tetsuya, get up,” said Touya, but Tetsuya still buried her face deep on his chest. Smiling softly, Touya cradled her and carried her up for dinner.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

A young teenager was sitting in front of his computer inside his room. A photo of five boys and a girl displayed on his computer. A smirk plastered on his face, while he flipped over his phone on his right hand back and forth.

“We will meet soon, Tetsuya. I assure you that”.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally came out with an update! I’m sorry if I took so long… I have an entrance exam for uni so I’ve been a bit busy. But, I’d never abandon this story!   
> Can’t wait for KnB season 3 though… I hope it will come out soon ^^   
> There is an OC in this chapter, but don’t worry, she won’t take any important roles. And you can guess who she is by her name, teehee~  
> Okay, on with the story~

**“I heard from Onii-chan that Seirin would have a practice match with our school, Kaijou, next week”**

Kuroko was a bit surprised when her bestfriend told her the news. She was on her way to school when her bestfriend from Teiko, Kasamatsu Yukina, called her.

“Really? This early?”

**“Yeah. Kise was babbling so much yesterday because he was excited to meet you, Tetsu-chan. And to tell you the truth, it was so annoying. Onii-chan had to kick him just to shut him up”**

“You already knew how annoying Kise-kun can be, Yuki-chan”.

**“I know, buuuuttt… Oh yeah! You better skip practice today, Tetsu-chan!”**

“Hm? Why so?” Kuroko asked. She almost reached the front gate of her school.

**“Onii-chan told me that Kise would drag him to Tokyo today after school because we don’t have any practice today. And I’m sure he will come to Seirin to ‘visit’ you”**

Kuroko was contemplating whether she should follow her bestfriend’s suggestion or not. It’s not she want to avoid him or anything, despite his annoying behavior. Besides, Kise is easy enough for her to handle. But…

“Maybe you’re right…”

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Seirin’s basketball team was gathered in the changing room after school for afternoon practice. Riko had told Hyuuga that she would come to practice a bit late because she had to take care of something. She smiled so sweetly that made Hyuuga seemed a bit uneasy for what she had to take care of.

 _‘Oh well, maybe it’s just my imagination,’_ thought the glasses captain warily.

“Isn’t this the special edition of when Generation of Miracles were interviewed?” asked Koganei while holding up a Basketball Monthly magazine.

“Ah, that’s right! That was when Kuroko was still at Teiko, right?” added Izuki.

The whole basketball team scurried up to read the magazine. They found so many articles about Generation of Miracle members, but there was none about a certain phantom player.

“Eh? I wonder why there is no article about our Kuroko… Talking about Kuroko, where is she?” Jyuuga asked, just realized that their only female player was not around.

Before any of them could respond, a knock was heard from the door. Tsuchida opened the door because he was the closest to it, but found no one there.

“I was sure that I heard someone knocked the door”

“Me too”

“Ano… I’m here…” responded a soft voice from beside the door.

“GYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!”

Everyone were having heart attack and most of them fell to the floor from shock while Kuroko just looked at them with her usual deadpanned expression.

 _‘This is getting boring…’_ thought the bluenette.

“Kuroko, how many time must I told you to stop scaring us like that!” shouted Kagami, hands covering his heart. _‘At this rate, I won’t be surprised if someday I have to go to the hospital because of heart attacks…’_

“I’m really sorry about that. I came here just to tell Captain that I can’t join practice today,” said Kuroko while looking straight to Hyuuga.

“Have you told Coach yet? And what’s your reason?”

“Yes, I have. A relative of mine was just submitted into hospital and I have to visit him and keep him company for today” _‘Well, I’m not really lying because I plan to visit Kiyoshi-senpai today’_

“Okay, off you go then”

“Thank you, Captain”.

Kuroko bowed and prepared to leave but stopped halfway and looked at Kagami, who looked back at her curiously.

“Please don’t be too reckless today, Kagami-kun”. And she left, leaving the red-haired more curious.

“What did she mean by that?” he asked out loud but everyone could only shrugged as their respond.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

“Everyone! Gather around!”

All the seniors and juniors stopped their practiced and gathered around Riko, who grinned brightly. Everyone felt chills running through their veins and could only thinking of one thought, _‘We would be dead! And no one can find our corpses!’_

“Hey, why are you guys suddenly paled like that?” she asked with both hands on her small waist but then paid them no mind. “Anyway, I’ve set up a practice match against Kaijou High next week! Isn’t that great?”

“Ka-Kaijou High?!” Hyuuga chocked out loud. It was clear what was uneasy feeling he was having before.

“That’s right! They won’t disappoint us. We’ll put plenty of first years on the court”.

“Disappoint us? They’re way better than us!”

“Are they really that good?” asked one of the first years.

“They’re strong at the national level. They play in the Inter-High every year,” responded Hyuuga. He already felt headache coming to him.

“And this year, Kaijou got their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta,” added Riko excitedly.

“E-Eeehh??? That Kise Ryouta from the Generation of Miracles?!”

While the others were getting panicked, Kagami had a big smirk on his face. He was excited, oh so excited! He finally got a chance to face the Generation of Miracles, and he couldn’t wait for it.

“Apparently, Kise works as a model,” said Hyuuga after he cooled down a bit.

“Good looking and good at basketball? That’s brutal…” Koganei sighed. It really was unfair to be good not just at sports but also at looks.

Just then, loud squeals could be heard inside the gym. The basketball team looked around and sweatdropped when they saw a horde of fan girls were crowding around the door to the gym.

“Wh-What are that people doing here?” asked Riko feeling annoyed. They had to start practicing again, and it couldn’t be done if there was so many people in the gym like that.

“Eeerrr… I really didn’t mean this to happen. I’m sorry, but could you wait for 5 minutes?” said a blond guy from the crowd.

After exactly 10 minutes, the fan girls had disappeared and there was a tall blond guy approaching Seirin’s basketball team. He had a fit figure and handsome face, and was smilling at them like a model.

“Hello~”

“Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta. What are you doing here?” Riko narrowed her eyes. She was really annoyed because this super model dared to waste their training time.

“Ah, gomen gomen-ssu~ When I heard our next opponent is Seirin, I remembered Kurokocchi went here, so I thought I would say a ‘hi’. Talking about Kurokocchi, where is she?” Kise’s sweet smile dropped when he realized that the one he wanted to meet so badly wasn’t around.

“If you’re looking for Kuroko, she’s not practicing today because she had an appointment,” answered Izuki.

“EEEEHHH???!!!! Kurokocchi is not here?! Huwaaaaaa, this world is so cruel…” Kise whined then sulking in front of the whole Seirin’s basketball members.

 _‘This is THAT Kise Ryouta!?’_ everyone thought warily.

“Kise Ryouta. Though he started basketball in his second year of middle school, his exceptional ability and sense got him on Teiko team as a regular in a heartbeat. While he has less experience than the other four, he’s a rapidly all-arounder,” Furihata said while reading on the magazine that he brought from the changing room.

“Since your second year?” Hyuuga asked in disbelieved.

Kise got up and scratched the back of his neck, smiling at them sheepishly.

“That magazine was exaggerating a bit. I’m glad to be called a part of Generation of Miracles, but I’m the weakest among them. That’s why they bullied me often and Kurokocchi was helping me back the-…”

_WHOOOSSS…_

A ball was thrown right into Kise. With a swift movement, Kise caught the ball with his left hand. Kagami, who was the one that threw the ball, only smirked wickedly to Kise.

“Hey! That was dangerous, you know! It’s a good thing that Kurokocchi is not around!” Kise scowled at Kagami, but Kagami’s smirk didn’t faltered.

“Play with me a little bit, Pretty Boy!” Kagami challenged him. Eyes full with fire and excitement. _‘He is one of them! He’s one of the Generation of Miracles!’_

“What? I don’t know if I’m ready. But… Fine. Let’s do it”.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Kuroko walked out from Maji Burger with her favorite vanilla milkshake in her hands. Because she got permission to not attend practice, she was planning to give Kiyoshi a call just to tell him that she would visit him. Rummaging through her bag in search for her phone, she didn’t see where she was going until she bumped into someone and that caused her vanilla milkshake spilled all over her uniform.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t look where I was going!” Someone said beside her and caught before she fell completely to the ground.

“It’s okay. I didn’t look either,” she responded although she was a bit annoyed that her uniform was _once_ again drenched with her favorite drink.

The one who caught her helped her to stand up and that was when she got a good look of her savior. The guy got spiked raven hair, with blue sharp eyes and thick eyebrow, although not as thick as Kiyoshi’s. He was taller than her, but not as tall as her former teammates, he even could be considered as short, but not that short either.

“But your milkshake got spilled all over your uniform… You can’t go around with that drenched clothes”

“I bring a spare cloth, so you don’t have to worry”

Kuroko could see that the guy in front of her still feel uneasy and guilty. But she really didn’t blame him though, it was her own fault that she didn’t look where she was going.

“Mmmm…. How about I bought you a vanilla milkshake while you change your clothes? You know, as a payback?” The guy offered.

Hearing her favorite drink being offered for free, Kuroko’s eyes shined brightly, although she still had no expression on her face.

“Really?”

“Of course. Let’s head out to Maji burger. I will buy your milkshake while you change in the restroom”

“Sure”

Both of them went to Maji Burger. Kuroko headed up to the restroom to change while the guy got into the line. It was lucky that she brought her clean T-shirt for practice, so she didn’t have to hurried home just to change her drenched uniform.

After done changing, Kuroko got out and saw the guy was sitting on one of the tables beside the large window. She approached him and tried to call out for him, but the guy didn’t notice her. Sighing, she reached her hand shook the guy’s shoulder.

“GAAAHHH!!!”

“Ano… I’m sorry, I tried to catch your attention but you seemed like you didn’t notice”

“No no, it’s alright. Please sit down, and here is your milkshake”. The guy gave Kuroko her milkshake, which she took gratefully. She smiled a bit, and sat down on the seat across the guy.

“Thank you,… Mmmm…”

“Ah, apologize my manner. I’m Kasamatsu Yukio”.

“Thank you so much, Kasamatsu-san. I’m Kuroko Tetsuya”

“Kuroko? Eeerrr, I think I’ve heard your name before…”

Realization came down to Kuroko that instant. _‘That was why he seems familiar…’_

“Kasamatsu-san, sorry if it sounds a bit rude. Are you by any chance related to Kasamatsu Yukina?”

“Yukina?! Oh, you’re that ‘Tetsu-chan’, Yukina’s friend from Teiko, right? I’m her brother”.

“It’s really a great coincidence to meet you personally, Kasamatsu-san. I’m sure you were dragged here by Kise-kun?” Kuroko asked while sipping her milkshake. Milkshake really is a bliss…

Kasamatsu took a deep breath and leaned on his seat, his half-eaten burger laid on his tray.

“Yes, that Kise.. He dragged me all the way here, saying that he wanted to meet Kurokocch-…” Kasamatsu paused and looked curiously at Kuroko. “Wait, that Kurokocchi he mentioned, is you, right?”

“I’m afraid to tell you that’s right, Kasamatsu-san. Your sister kinda gave me a warning that Kise-kun would come to Tokyo today, so I asked my coach to give me permission to not attend practice today”

“Haha! Serves him right! I think we can get along fine, Kuroko,” Kasamatsu said with a big grin on his face.

They talked about many things for the rest of the afternoon. They discovered that they had some similar things like each other, like they both love horror movies, have the same passion in basketball, like to working hard, etc.

After seemed like hours, Kasamatsu’s phone rang indication an incoming message.

“Seems like Kise’s searching for me to come back to Kaijou, took him long enough. Can we exchange numbers, Kuroko? I’d like to hang out with you sometimes”

“Sure, Kasamatsu-san”

They exchanged number and got up to separate ways.

“I’ll be seeing you next week on practice match, Kuroko!” Kasamatsu said as he waved good-bye to Kuroko.

Kuroko smiled and waved back. _‘It’s good to find a good company’_. When she turned her back, her phone beeped for an incoming message.

**_From     : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject: Wanna come?_ **

**_Tsuya-chan, wanna come today? I feel lonely… (u____u)_ **

Expecting that kind of message from Kiyoshi, she replied it immediately.

**_To           : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject: Re: Wanna come?_ **

**_Sure. I was planning to visit today, anyway. Be there in 15 mins_ **

She flipped shut her phone and walking down the street to the direction of the hospital.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Kuroko was just got out from the bathroom when her phone beeped. She laid on her bed and took her phone from the desk beside her bed. It was an exhausting day, but a fun one too. She hoped that she would have many days like that again, it helped her to forgot her pain from the memories of her former teammates.

**_From     : Kasamatsu Yukio_ **

**_Subject: Fun day_ **

**_I really had fun today, thanks for you. Hope we can hang out soon, maybe after practice match next week_ **

She read that text again and again, happiness filled into her heart. _‘It was a fun day, indeed’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup! The OC is Kasamatsu Yukio’s sister xD I hope you’re all okay with that.


	5. Chapter 5

Kagami was telling Kuroko what had happened the day before when Kuroko was absent from the afternoon practice at their lunch break. Apparently, her former teammate indeed came to Seirin in the behalf of meeting Kuroko and despite her warning, Kagami carelessly challenged the copy-cat for a match. Kise won for sure, and demanding for Seirin to give Kuroko back to him because he thought that Seirin couldn’t bring out Kuroko’s full potential. And luckily, or not, Hyuuga got into his clutch mode. He was pissed that the two freshmen (Kagami and Kise) acted whatever they want and ignoring their seniors. The glasses captain snapped at both Kagami and Kise, making the blonde cowered and ran away from them.

Kuroko sighed deeply. She knew something like that would happened, that was why she decided to skipped practice. She studied Kagami’s face and found the red headed was grinning madly. He had found a strong and challenging opponent and couldn’t wait for their practice match with Kaijou.

“Basketball idiot…” she muttered softly.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing”

Kagami tilted his head in confussion, but decided to ignore it and continued his talking about his excitement.

Seeing the red head at the moment once again reminded her of how similar Kagami with her former teammates. They always had that glint in their eyes whenever they were faced with strong opponents before, but…

Kuroko shook her head. No need to be drowned into the past.

**“Attention. Kuroko Tetsuya from class 1-B, please proceed to the teacher’s office. Once again, Kuroko Tetsuya from class 1-B, please proceed to the teacher’s office”**

“Hey, Kuroko, what did you do?” Kagami asked, still munching his 10th bread. It was unusual for the phantom girl to be called by teacher.

“I also don’t know, Kagami-kun. I’m going for now,”. Kuroko got up from her seat and walked off.

“Wish you luck!”

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Kuroko stared at the door in front of her. As far as she was concerned, she didn’t do anything that need her to be called into the teacher office. As for her absence, she made sure her teachers noticed her attending all of their classes. She pondered about other possibilities, but none of it seemed to be concerning enough.

_‘Oh well, better get it over with…’_

She knocked on the door and came inside. She scanned over the room and found her homeroom teacher, Kurosaki-sensei. The bluenette then approached the bright-haired teacher.

“Ano, Kurosaki-sensei…”

Kurosaki-sensei looked up from his paperworks on his desk, his signature scowl was visible, and let out a yelped when he found Kuroko right in front of him.

“Che, Kuroko, you really need to work on your inhumanly low presence… I’m sure that I’ll get a heart-attack nowadays…” The bright-haired teacher muttered the last part under his breath, but Kuroko still able to heard it.

“Kurosaki-sensei, I was called here through the speaker. Is something the matter?” She decided to ignore her teacher’s mumbles.

“Ah, right. There is a phone call for you,” Kurosaki-sensei informed while pointing at the phone on his desk beside his paperworks.

Kuroko looked at her teacher in confussion, but Kurosaki-sensei just shrugged and got back to his work. She approached the telephone and putted the handle on her ear.

“Kuroko Tetsuya here”

 **“Tetsuya,”**. A silky voice came from the other line.

The bluenette froze upon hearing a familiar voice. She had been trying to avoid his voice as long as possible, but it seemed that she couldn’t avoid him any longer.

“Akashi-kun… Is there anything that I can help you with?” Kuroko was shaking a bit. She really didn’t want anyone to see her shaking like this, especially her teachers. But it seemed Akashi wanted to punish her because of her action to avoid him.

 **“Your voice sounds like you’re trembling, Tetsuya. Are you alright?”** Akashi’s voice sounded like he was indeed concern, but Kuroko knew better. He might be smirking at the moment.

Kuroko took a deep breath. She needed to gather all of her courage. She didn’t want her former captain to be contained with satisfaction by her reaction.

She must be acting a bit weird because Kurosaki-sensei looked at her with questioning look. Kuroko quickly masked her face with her usual deadpanned expression and Kurosaki-sensei shrugged it off.

“I’m alright, Akashi-kun. So, let’s just get into the business”

 **“It’s unlike you to be impatient, Tetsuya,”** He chuckled, and to be honest, his chuckles made Kuroko feeling more uneasy. **“Well, I want to say that I’m disappointed by your behavior, Tetsuya, and you know that I’m not a patient man. I’ve been patient enough by you avoiding my calls, so I decided to use a way that you can’t avoid”**

“My apologize, Akashi-kun”

**“It’s okay, Tetsuya, I don’t really mind. I call today because I just heard that your team would be facing Kise’s in a couple of days. I wish you luck, Tetsuya”**

“Thank you, Akashi-kun. I’ll do my best”

 **“I know you will, Tetsuya. Oh, and I hope that you won’t avoid my call anymore after this, or I’ll come to you personally”**. Kuroko gulped when she heard this.

“Yes, Akashi-kun. I will try, but I can’t be sure to take your call if I’m in the middle of something”

 **“Very well. And Tetsuya, remember that you’ll need me in the end, Ohime-sama”**. With that, he hung up, leaving the blue haired girl pondering what had just happened.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

**_To           : Kuroko Tetsuya_ **

**_Subject: Practice match_ **

**_Yo, Kuroko! The practice match would be in a couple of days. Let’s give it our all_ **

**_From     : Kuroko Tetsuya_ **

**_Subject: Re: Practice match_ **

**_That’s right, Kasamatsu-san. Let’s give it our best. I’ll meet you at the practice match_ **

It was so unlike Kasamatsu Yukio to spend his time at his phone for long. So, imagine how surprised Kaijou’s regulars were to find their strict captain grinning while staring at his phone on his hand for such a long time after their afternoon practice. Kise left earlier because he had a job, so he didn’t there to witness his captain’s weird behavior.

All of this time being Yukio’s best friend, Moriyama Yoshitaka never saw his best friend acted like that before.

“Yukina-chan, your brother is acting weird,” Moriyama asked the long haired manager that was just offering a towel to him, which of course he took gladly.

Yukina looked at her brother and indeed, her brother was still grinning over his phone.

“He was like that too when he was back from Tokyo yesterday,”. The Kaijou manager exclaimed and it peaked the raven haired third year’s interest.

“Do you think that he got a girl?”

“Taka-nii, seriously? Do you really think that Onii-chan would get a girl ALL by HIMSELF?” Yukina pointed out with her best friend’s famous deadpanned expression.

“Buuutttttt, Yukina-chaaaannn, aren’t you curious?” Moriyama whined.

“Nah. Onii-chan will tell me if he wants to,”. The girl proceed to do her other works, but Moriyama held her back by glomping to her.

“I would be dying out of curiousity, Yukina-chaaaaannnn…”

“Taka-nii, put your hands off of me”

“I don’t want to, my sweet baby~”. Moriyama playfully kissed the girl’s head, but Yukina just shrugged it off with her bored expression. “Now, let’s confront your dear Onii-chan~!” Moriyama putted her into a headlock and dragged her to Yukio.

Yukio noticed someone approached him and looked up to find Moriyama being too close to his baby sister. His grin evaporated from his face immediately, replaced with a dark scowl.

“What are you doing with my sister, Yoshitaka!” Yukio shouted, pulling his sister out of the taller teen’s grasp and placed himself in front of her, protecting her.

“Aaaawww, don’t be such a party pooper, Yukio… We’re dating, of course! Da.ting~” Moriyama exclaimed while grinning.

“I don’t re-call that I’m ever dating you, Taka-nii…”

“In your dream, Yoshitaka! Stay away from my sister!”

“Che, okay okay. By the way, who were you texting to? You were grinning at your phone, you know. Is it a girl?”

“What are you talking about?! Of course it’s a-…” And suddenly, Yukio paused. He seemed like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on his face, as if he just realized something important. And then he froze, unable to move nor to speak.

Moriyama and Yukina were observing the short captain’s reaction.

“Don’t tell me you just realized that she’s a girl?” Moriyama suspected but received no respond from his best friend.

“It seems so, Taka-nii”

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

“Tetsuya”

Kuroko found the green haired teenager standing in front of her school’s gate. Midorima had texted her earlier saying that he’d walk her home after practice.

“Seems like your slave is not coming along today, Shin-kun” Kuroko approached the greenetee and both of them started walking off side by side.

“Takao? I’ve ordered him to go home alone without me”

“You’re not denying that he’s your slave…”

“Why should I deny what’s true?”

Although she already expected that Midorima would respond like that, she still let out a soft chuckles. She understood that he didn’t mean to be cruel like that, her childhood friend was just too tsundere to express his feeling.

“Akashi-kun called me earlier” Kuroko exclaimed while they were halfway to her home.

Midorima, who was grabbing his glasses and in the middle of cleaning it with a silk handkerchief, looked at her questioningly.

“I thought you’re avoiding him?”

“I am. But he called my school just to talk to me. I can’t avoid him anymore…”

“What did he say?” Midorima putted on his glasses back in place and his handkerchief into his trousers pocket.

“He wished me luck for my practice match against Kaijou and reminded me that I can’t avoid his calls or else he’ll come to me in person”

Midorima sighed. He knew already that someday Akashi would snap and use all his way to get to the phantom girl.

“So that’s why he called me to come into your practice match. He wants me to observe you…”

Hearing that made the uneasy feeling inside Kuroko increased.

“Shin-kun will come to my match just because Akashi-kun’s order?” She asked, there was a bit of hurt in her eyes.

Midorima’s gaze softened. It was true that he most likely would follow Akashi’s orders, but he would prioritize his childhood friend above that.

“I already planned to watch your match long before Akashi gave that order, Tsuya. I’d never miss your first match in high school. It’s-… It’s not like I care, I just want to make sure you’re not slacking off!” He said the last part with a red blush on his face.

Kuroko smiled softly. She really was glad to have Midorima back at her side. He always managed to make Kuroko feel at ease.

“I’m so happy to hear that, Shin-kun. By the way, I haven’t seen your lucky item for today. Did you forget about it, Shin-kun?”

“Of course not, Tsuya. I’d never forget my lucky item because without it I couldn’t perform my capability. I just putted it inside my bag because my teacher reprimanded me to not carrying it around in public”

“What is it….?”

“A skull”  

 


	6. Chapter 6

Kuroko was visiting Kiyoshi a day before her practice match with Kaijou. She finally could get out from Riko’s hellish training for that day, and Kuroko was really really tired. After all, she didn’t have that much stamina to begin with, so the training menu Riko gave them was really wearing her out. It was a miracle that Kuroko didn’t collapse in the middle of their practice.

Just when she was about to open the door to Kiyoshi’s room, someone had opened it from the inside and bumped into her, making her collided with a huge body. Feeling annoyed, she frowned and tried to push the huge body on top of her. The body finally lifted itself from her, and a big hand was offered to get her up.

“Huwa! Gomen gomen, I didn’t know that there was someone outside!” A familiar voice apologized to her.

Kuroko looked up and found the very person she was about to visit standing in front of her. Out . of . his . bed.

“Kiyoshi-senpai…”

Kiyoshi straightened himself and scanned the person that he bumped into. He grinned sheepishly when he saw Kuroko looked at him with a frown on her face.

“Oh, Tsuya~ Hehehehe… I’m sorry…?”

Kuroko didn’t give him any respond, instead she grabbed his wrist and dragged him back to his room. She slammed the door shut loud enough, and then settled him on his bed. After he was settled, she stood beside his bed with both hands on her waist, furry could be seen In her eyes. Kiyoshi could only smile meekly while facing the petite blue haired girl, waiting for her usual scolding.

“Kiyoshi-senpai, what were you doing out of your bed…” She asked with an icy tone. She never shouted or used any violence for scolding Kiyoshi, no. It was just wasting times and energy for her. Besides, it was in Kiyoshi’s nature to just do whatever he want, not minding how weird it was. As long as he didn’t get hurt, she didn’t mind what he was doing. But sometimes, Kiyoshi needed to do what he was said.

“I’m bored, Tsuya~!” He whined, looking like a big puppy. “I just wanted to meet you, and besides, I have a good news~! I can’t wait to tell you!”

“You could just stay still here waiting for me to come, Senpai. And what’s this good news that makes you so eager to tell me?”

“Come here closer, Tsuya-chan~ I bet you’d be surprised!” He motioned for her to come closer to him.

Kuroko got closer to Kiyoshi and leaned her head forward until her face was just about an inch apart from Kiyoshi’s. Kiyoshi whispered something to Kuroko’s ear that made the blue haired teen’s eyes widened in surprise. She drew her head from her position to found Kiyoshi’s bright smile.

“Is it true?” Kuroko asked, inspecting Kiyoshi’s smile.

The brunette nodded quickly. It seemed that he was so excited by the news that he just told to Kuroko.

“I can’t wait until it happened!”

A small smile formed on Kuroko’s lips. Her smile was not that noticeable, but the older teen could see it.

“Me too. I’m so glad…” Kuroko muttered softly.

“It’s not a dream, right, Tsuya?” Kiyoshi asked. He grabbed Kuroko’s hand, just to make sure that it was not his imagination.

“No, it’s not, Senpai. I’m here with you now, right?” She tightened her hold on his hand, assuring him that she was there with him.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

The day for their practice match with Kaijou was finally came. All of Seirin’s basketball club members were waiting in front of Kaijou’s gate for Kaijou’s representative to bring them to the gym. Some of them looked nervous, their opponent was Kaijou after all, which was a national level team.

“Kagami-kun, why are your eyes so red?” Kuroko asked, looking at the red haired teen beside her, who looked both a bit tired and excited.

“I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep last night.” Kagami responded.

“You’re like a kid who’s feeling excited for their first recreation day, Kagami-kun.”

“Why are you-…”

“KUROKOCCHI~!!!!!!!” Kagami’s protest was cutted off by a shrill voice that was coming to their direction.

A blur of blonde hair could be seen running towards Seirin’s members and in a blink of eyes, Kise Ryota stood in front of Kuroko. He grabbed both of her hands and grinning like a kitten.

“Finally you’re here, Kurokocchi~! I couldn’t sleep for a week because I was so excited to meeting you! Seeing that I didn’t manage to see your face when I visited your school….”

“Ah, hello, Kise-kun. It’s nice meeting you too.” Kuroko responded monotonously.

“It seems like he ignores all of us, yeah?” Hyuuga mumbled, feeling irritated by the blonde since the first time they met.

“Yes, he does, Hyuuga. He does.” Izuki answered, feeling the same irritation as his captain.

A big veins popped on Riko’s face. _‘How dare this blonde idiot ignores us like this?!’_

“Kise-kun, please show us the way to the gym already.” Riko said with a sickly sweet voice, but the copycat prodigy kept ignoring them.

“Ne ne, Kurokocchi, let’s make a deal, shall we? If Kaijou wins, you should come with us~ I’m sure that I can be used to your greatest potential, Kurokocchi!” Kise smiled brightly at Kuroko.

Kuroko stared at the taller teen, then bowed politely. “I’m sorry, Kise-kun. But I’d never transferred to your school.” She straightened her posture, and looked straight into Kise’s eyes. “Because, Seirin will definitely win today”.

Kagami grinned at Kuroko’s exclamation and ruffled his shadow’s hair.

“The girl is right, Pretty-Boy. We’ll crush you today!”

Kise frowned at their determination. He was sure that Seirin would never win against them, besides, he had tested them the week before.

“But, Kuroko-…”

“KIIIIIISSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” A shout could be heard and suddenly the blonde was thrown to the ground.

“Don’t run off like that or I will kick you!” Kasamatsu Yukio glared down at the blonde.

“But you have kicked me already, Senpai!!!!” Kise wailed, rubbing his sore head.

“Kasamatsu-san.” Kuroko greeted the raven haired teen.

Kasamatsu averted his gaze from Kise to found Kuroko beside him. A blush immediately formed on his cheeks. He remembered the day when Yoshitaka and his sister pointed out that Kuroko is a girl, and felt ashamed about it. _‘But, I think I’m okay with Kuroko, despite the fact that she’s a girl. Yes, I’m okay with it…’_

“Yo, Kuroko! Finally coming here, eh?”

“I won’t lost to you, Kasamatsu-san.” Kuroko exclaimed with a small smile.

“We’ll see about that”

Everyone, sans Kagami because he really didn’t care, stared at both Kuroko and Kasamatsu in surprise. They didn’t know that their phantom girl had known Kaijou’s captain before. Especially Kise, he stared with his mouth wide opened.

“Eeeeehhh???!!!! Kasamatsu-senpai knows Kurokocchi?! Since when?! And why both of you talk so casually??? It’s not faiiiirrrr!!!!” Kise got up from the ground and clinging to Kuroko’s arm.

“Kise-kun, please get off of me.” Kuroko said with her usual monotone voice.

“Kora, Kise! She said to let her go, or I’ll smack you!” Kasamatsu smacked the blonde’s head, effectively detaching the blonde’s grip from the blue haired girl.

“You have smacked me, Senpai!!!!”

Kasamatsu ignored him and strolled off to facing Hyuuga.

“I’m sorry for the commotion. I’m Kasamatsu Yukio, captain of Kaijou’s team. Shall we go to the gym now?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Kasamatsu-san.” Hyuuga answered, silently thanking God that someone didn’t ignore them like Kise did.

All of them were walking with Kasamatsu in the lead, while Kuroko walked beside him and chatted animatedly with him and Kise trying to cling into her, although he got smacked by Kasamatsu everytime he tried to do so. At the end, Kagami had to drag the whining blonde on their way to the gym.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

By the time they arrived at the gym, Kuroko was tackled by a long haired girl. The girl had a bit resemblance with the Kaijou’s captain, except that she had petite figure, silky long hair, and thin eyebrows.

“Tetsu-chaaaaaannn!!!! I missed you so so soooooo much!!!” The girl putted Kuroko in a tight hug.

“I miss you too, Yuki-chan.” Kuroko responded by putting her arms around the raven haired girl.

“Yaaaayyy~!!! Group hug~!” Kise shouted and attempted to join the hug, but once again was kicked on the head by Kasamatsu.

“Stay away from my sister!”

“You’re so mean, Kasamatsu-senpai!!!!”

Kasamatsu Yukina released the phantom girl and smiled brightly.

“I’m so glad to meet you, Tetsu-chan! Although you didn’t tell me that you’ve met Onii-chan when he was in Tokyo a week ago! I had to know it from someone else!”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Yuki-chan. I was just too busy, I think? And I thought that Kasamatsu-san would have told you”.

“Eeeehhh??!!! Kurokocchi met Kasamatsu-senpai when we were visiting Tokyo?! That’s unfair!!!!” Kise wailed again but everyone just ignored him.

“Nani nani? Is this the girl that Yukio was texting to?” Yoshitaka came out of nowhere while wounding his arm around Yukina’s shoulder.

“Yoshitaka! Stay away from my sister, you bastard!” Kasamatsu shouted. He was about to smack his best friend, but Yoshitaka was fast enough to avoid it and ran away.

Seirin’s members, once again, watched what had happened in front of their eyes with shocked faces. They thought that Kaijou would be a serious team, seeing that they were in national level. Turned out that Kaijou was so… Lively…

Yukina turned to face Seirin and bowed politely to them.

“Hello, I’m Kasamatsu Yukina. Yukio Onii-chan’s sister, Tetsu-chan’s best friend since Teiko, and Kaijou’s basketball team manager. Let me show you where’s your changing room.” Yukina smiled at them and motioned for them to follow her. All of Seirin’s members were following her, leaving the still wailing Kise, and the rest of Kaijou’s behind.

Kuroko walked beside her best friend, while Yukina was holding her hand. The other Seirin’s members were chatting quietly behind them.

Kuroko stared questioningly at the raven haired girl. Yukina tried to shake it off, but her best friend kept boring holes into her head. She knew what the phantom girl wanted to know.

“Taka-nii is not my boyfriend, Tetsu-chan, so rest assured.” Yukina mumbled quietly.

Kuroko kept her gaze on her best friend for a while and then shrugged.

“If you say so.”

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Seirin was really not a team to be underestimated. It was really fortunate that Coach Takeuchi had listened to Kise and Yukina’s warnings about Seirin having the phantom sixth players, or else he was sure that he would be ashamed. So far Seirin managed to lead with a close scores towards Kaijou. Moreover, Kaijou was still distracted with abnormal passes from a certain phantom player.

“Your girlfriend is good, eh, Yukio?” Yoshitaka teased the strict captain.

“She’s not my girlfriend! Do you want me to give you laps after this?” The raven haired teen threatened.

“Only if you allow me a date with Yukina-chan~”

“Die, Yoshitaka!”

Kagami once again dunked the ball into the ring after he received Kuroko’s pass. The two of them were really unstoppable, and it made Kise gritted his teeth in annoyance. Eventhough that Kise had copied all of Kagami’s movement with much greater strength, he still couldn’t break Kagami and Kuroko’s combination.

Kuroko was scanning around the court when her eyes caught a glimpse of green hair around the spectators. She looked closely and saw Midorima was watching her, a red tennis racquet on his grasp.

 _‘Does he want to play tennis or something?’_ She thought and then chuckling softly.

Midorima seemed to notice her chuckles and then stared at her with confussion clear on his face. Kuroko waved to him slightly and focused back to the match she was in.

Kise watched their interaction and his irritation grew some more. _‘Why everyone was getting Kurokocchi’s attention? Why not me?’_

“I won’t lose to anyone! Not even Kurokocchi!” Kise shouted.

He chased after Kagami, who was dribbling the ball, and tried to steal the ball from the red haired teen. He was too absorbed with his rage that he didn’t notice Kuroko, who was standing behind him.

_DUAAAAKKKKK!!!!!_

A loud smack could be heard. Kise felt like his elbow just smacked into something. He turned around and, to his horror, he found Kuroko was laying on the ground. Blood trickled from her forehead.

“Ku-… Kurokocchi…” He tried to reach her, but was stopped by Kagami who gripped his arm roughly.

“Don’t you dare to get any closer to her!” Kagami threatened him. After he gave Kise one last glare, Kagami walked away to Kuroko’s laying form.

The other Seirin’s members rushed off to Kuroko while Kagami lifted her slowly from the ground. It was a good thing Kuroko still gained her consciousness. She looked around her and found everyone was staring at her with worry on their faces, even Kagami looked down at her with a frown on his face. But Kise had the worse face than any of them. Kuroko could see that his body was shaking and his eyes glinted with tears. He gritted both of his hands so hard that his knuckles turned white. A mutter of _“I hurt Kurokocchi, it’s my fault…”_ could be heard from him.

 _‘I’m glad that he still worries about me…’_ Kuroko thought, happy with the revelation.

“Kise-kun…” Kise looked up from the ground to find his ex-instructor gave him a soft smile. “I’m fine, don’t worry. It’s not your fault.”

Hearing her soft voice broke Kise down and he sobbed his self out, unable to restrain himself any longer.

Kagami brought Kuroko to one of the benches beside the court and leaned her down so that she sat on the bench with Riko immediately launch herself to inspect Kuroko’s injury. Just when Riko was about to touch the blue haired teen’s face, a deep voice held her down.

“Let me take care of her instead”

Seirin’s members looked beside Kuroko to found a bespectacled green haired male standing there. The greenette bended down on his knee and touched Kuroko’s face, inspecting the red wound on her forehead.

“Shin-kun…”

“You let your guard down, Tetsuya. It’s good that it’s not a major wound and you don’t have a concussion.” Midorima sighed in relief and then he turned to Riko. “Please give me the first aid kit”.

“Ah, hai!” Riko responded immediately, surprised that the bespectacled boy talking to her, and then gave him the first aid kit.

“Hey, isn’t that… Midorima Shintarou, the Generation of Miracle’s shooting guard?” Koganei whispered to Izuki.

“Yes, he is…” The eagle-eyed teen whispered back.

After Midorima was done bandaging Kuroko’s wound, he told Kuroko to lay down and take a rest for a bit, which the phantom girl complied without much protest and muttered a soft _“Thank you, Shin-kun…”_ to him. The green haired teen then averted his gaze to Riko.

“Her injuries are not that bad, but she needs to take a break for a while. You need to substitute her until later.” Midorima told her.

“You’re right. Thank you for your assistant. Koganei-kun, you’re up substituting Kuroko-chan!” Riko ordered.

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Midorimacchi…” Kise called out, a despair look still on his face.

Midorima glared at the blonde, making the copycat cowered even more.

“You were careless, Kise. Don’t be surprised if Akashi gives you a call.” Midorima told Kise, still glaring at the blonde.

Kise gulped, he knew that he’d receive hell from Akashi after the emperor found out about Kuroko’s injury. “I understand, Midorimacchi…”

The referee whistled, indicating that the players should be inside the court so that they could resume the match. All of the players entered the court, although Kise was a bit hesitant to do so, and then the match was continued.

Midorima huffed, then sat himself down beside Kuroko’s head. He looked at the sleeping girl who had a peaceful look on her face. A relieved smile tugged on the bespectacled boy’s lips. He putted down his red tennis racquet beside him. Then he stroked Kuroko’s hair with his bandaged fingers.

_‘Such a troublesome princess…’_

… - … - … - … - …

 

5 minutes left until the last quarter ended, and Seirin’s scores was left behind by 3 points with Kajou’s. Riko was trying to find a way so that they could beat Kaijou but found none.

“If only we have Kuroko-chan in the court…” She muttered loud enough.

“Then, I’ll get into the court.” A soft voice responded to her.

Riko turned around and found Kuroko got up from the bench with Midorima supporting her shoulders. She was limping around, trying to reach the court by herself, while the greenette stood by her side so that he could steady her if she fell.

“No, Kuroko-chan! I said ‘if only’, you’re not good enough to get into the court yet!” Riko tried to stop the phantom girl but with no avail.

Kuroko looked up to Midorima, begging him with her silent stare, which Midorima responded with a deep sigh.

“Kuroko would be alright to get into the court, Seirin’s coach.” MIdorima said to the bewildered brunette.

“But…”

“Coach.” Kuroko turned around and gave Riko a small smile that unknowingly made the young coach blushed. “If just with my presence in the court could make a miracle, then let me be that miracle”.

Moved by the bluenette words, Riko approached Kuroko and gave her a tight hug. “I’ll leave the rest to you then.” She said with a smile and then quickly released the blue haired girl from her embrace.

Kuroko nodded and continued her way into the court.

“She’s always that stubborn, ne?” Riko asked Midorima, who had sat himself back on the bench.

“Hn.”

“Thought so… Ah, btw, that bench is for members only!”

“…….”


	7. Bonus Chapter: Iron Heart's Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hubby Kiyoshi is having his birthday on June 10th! So I made this special chapter for him, hehe :3   
> It’s taking place on Kiyoshi’s freshman year in Seirin and Kuroko’s third year in Teiko, when Kiyoshi just formed the basketball club and preparing for Inter-High, so he hadn’t got his injury yet, while Kuroko was still with GoM.   
> This story is in Blue Flower in the Mist AU. And so, this chapter will show you how close Kiyoshi and Kuroko are as friends. If we calculate, this chapter takes place after a year or so since Kiyoshi and Kuroko have known each other.   
> This chapter I dedicated for my lovely unni, Clxves. Thank you so much, unni, I love you!!!!  
> Hope you like this chapter, guys~ Happy reading!

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!”

Kiyoshi Teppei blinked his eyes several times at the commotion in front of him. He was late coming to practice that day because his sensei held him off to scold him for falling asleep in his last class. And he was sure that at the time he got his feet inside the gym he’d be welcomed with Riko’s angry face and tantrums. But he really didn’t expect what was in front of him at the moment.

All of his teammates were grinning at his face with confetti in their hands, while Riko stood in the middle of them, carrying what seemed like a big lump of… mud…

“Give him your best shoots!” Hyuuga shouted and all of the basketball threw their confetti to the big brunette.

Kiyoshi looked at himself and laughed when he saw his body covered in many color of small papers.

“Happy birthday, Teppei! This is for you~” Riko smiled brightly when she presented the big lump of what seemed like mud to the Iron Heart.

“Haha, thank you, guys! I really didn’t expect that you all would remember my birthday. And thanks for the present, Riko, I didn’t know a lump of mud is a new trend for a gift.” Kiyoshi responded with his usual smile, genuinely happy for his teammates attentions.

Riko quickly went to one of the corner in the gym and sulked, dark aura glooming around her and… Were that mushrooms growing in that corner?

“Actually, Kiyoshi, it’s supposed to be your birthday cake. She made it herself.” Hyuuga patted the taller teen’s shoulder.

“Ah, gomen gomen, Riko! I thought it’s a mud.” Kiyoshi laughed easily, making the brown haired girl sulked even more.

“We’ve thought that something like this would happen, so we asked Mitobe to bake your birthday cake, Kiyoshi. It’s your actual birthday cake!” Izuki presented a basketball-shaped cake with Mitobe smiling behind him.

The basketball-shaped cake really had a very nice details, with _Happy Birthday_ written on its upper side with red icing and Kiyoshi’s name written on its lower side with brown icing.

Kiyoshi’s eyes got watery when he saw the cake that was presented to him.

“Oi oi, why are you crying, Kiyoshi?!” Hyuuga asked, panicking when he saw the streams coming from Kiyoshi’s eyes.

Kiyoshi rubbed his eyes and his big smile still plastered on his face. “I’m so touched with all of you. Really, thank you, guys!”

All of Seirin’s basketball members smiled hearing the brunette’s statement, eve n Riko came out from her sulking corner.

“No problem, Teppei. Besides, we’re all friends, right?”

Kiyoshi was surprised when he saw all of his teammates smiling genuinely to him, which made him smiled along.

“Now, time for a party!” Koganei bounced happily.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Kiyoshi walked home after his surprise birthday party in the gym ended. He was having so much fun with his teammates and he was glad that he had them as his friends. To be truthful, even Kiyoshi didn’t remember at all that it was his birthday.

“I’m home!” The brunette called out when he opened the front door of his grandparent’s house. Ever since he got into middle school, he had been living with his grandparents while both of his parents were out doing their business.

“Welcome home, Teppei-kun. Your friend has been waiting for you since a long time ago.” His grandma came out to greet him and ushered him to get into the living room.

“Friend?”

“She’s a really good girl. I’m so glad that you have a friend like her.” His grandma responded while shoving him to get into the living room.

There, on the sofa across from his grandpa, sat a petite girl with shoulder-length blue hair. The girl turned to face him when she heard he was coming inside the living room, and Kiyoshi smiled brightly when he saw her face.

“You’re finally home, Kiyoshi-senpai.”

“Tsuya-chaaaaaannnn~~~~!!!!!” Kiyoshi ran off to glomp Kuroko, which unfortunately couldn’t be dodged by the bluenette.

“Kiyoshi-senpai… You’re suffocating me…” Kuroko tried to inform the older teen, but Kiyoshi didn’t let go of his hold even for a bit.

“Now now, Teppei, give Tsuya-chan a room to breath. It had been quite a while since the last time she visited us after all.” Kiyoshi’s grandpa laughed seeing his grandson’s antique behavior.

“You grandpa’s right, Teppei-kun. And change your uniform quickly, dinner will be ready soon and Tsuya-chan will join us tonight. She even brought you a cake for your birthday, so we’ll also celebrate your birthday at dinner.” Kiyoshi’s grandma informed him and went to the kitchen.

Kiyoshi released the poor bluenette from his tight hold and looked at her with twinkles in his eyes.

“You’re really staying for dinner, Tsuya?” The brunette asked, his voice filled with hopes.

“Of course. I’ve brought you a cake after all, although I bought it, you know I can’t bake anything. And then we’ll celebrate your birthday together.”

“YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!” Kiyoshi shouted happily and ran off to his room to change his clothes.

Kiyoshi’s grandpa chuckled at his grandson’s retreating figure and smiled fondly at Kuroko.

“He’s such an energetic boy, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is, Ji-san.” Kuroko smiled softly.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Dinner lasted  with such an eventful moment. Kiyoshi’s grandma cooked so many dishes and most of them were Kiyoshi’s favorites. After they were finished with their meals, Kiyoshi’s grandma took out the cake that Kuroko brought from the refrigerator and all of them were celebrating Kiyoshi’s birthday.

Kiyoshi was so happy with his birthday that year. He got to spend his birthday with his friends, family, and Kuroko. It was the best birthday ever for him.

After dinner, Kiyoshi and Kuroko were sitting on the floor in Kiyoshi’s room. Kuroko had called her brother to pick her up at Kiyoshi’s house, but her brother told her to wait for him a bit because he still got some works to take care of.

“I’m so happy, Tsuya-chan.” Kiyoshi said while leaning his head on his bed behind him, his eyes closed facing the ceiling.

Kuroko looked up from the book she was reading and looked at Kiyoshi’s leaning form.

“Because of your birthday?”

“Not only that…” He shook his head and then straightened his form to look at Kuroko in the eyes. “I didn’t expect that you’d be waiting for me at home. You didn’t message me or anything.”

“I wanted to give you a surprise, Senpai. Turned out I had to wait for you to get home though.”

“Haha, sorry about that. My teammates also decided to celebrate my birthday in the gym, so I was held back for a while.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad that you got a nice team, Senpai. Besides, I don’t mind waiting.”

Kiyoshi smiled softly at Kuroko, which the bluenette returned with a smile too.

“Tsuya, come here for a moment.” Kiyoshi motioned for Kuroko to sit in front of him.

Kuroko tilted her head in confussion, but she shrugged and obediently sat in front of Kiyoshi as he requested. Kiyoshi leaned forward and circling his arms around Kuroko’s petite waist. His head rested on the crook of Kuroko’s neck.

“Kiyoshi-senpai, you’re really like a child.” Kuroko mumbled.

“I’m a big child, aren’t I?” He chuckled. “Just let me rest like this for a while, Tsuya-chan… I’m just so so happy today and it’s wearing me out a little…”

Kuroko nodded and let the older teen cuddled her up. She brought up her hand and patted Kiyoshi’s head that was resting on her shoulder. The gesture made the brunette hummed in satisfaction.

They continued like this until Kuroko remembered of something.

“Ah, I forgot!” Kuroko stopped her patting, much to Kiyoshi’s disappointment, and reached into her bag, seeking for something.

“What is it, Tsuya?”

Kuroko took something out from her bag. She then grabbed Kiyoshi’s right hand and slipped something on his wrist.

Kiyoshi looked at his hand and found a black wristband resting on his right wrist.

Kuroko turned around so that she was facing Kiyoshi’s confused face.

“My birthday gift. It’s the same brand as mine and you said that you want one.”

“Thank you, Tsu-…” Kuroko cutted him off before he finished his words.

“Wait! I have something more.” Kuroko putted something on his palm which turned out to be his favorite candy. “Brown sugar candies.”

Kiyoshi’s eyes got watery again and he hugged the blue haired teen tightly.

“I really really really thank you, Tsuya-chaaaaaaannnnnnnnn!!!!”

Once again, Kuroko patted the older teen’s head. Kiyoshi was really like a big baby with his attitude like that.

“It’s getting closer to the Inter-High. Do your best, ne.”

The brunette nodded vigorously as his respond.

“Happy birthday, Kiyoshi-senpai…”


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you guys watched Kurobasu ep 41.5? Kyaaaaaa!!!!!! I watched it the day it was released because I couldn’t damn wait, and yes, it still didn’t have subtitle back then… But I was satisfied!!! xD GoM when they were still in their first year middle school are sooo cuuuuuttteeee *fangirl mode on*   
> Thank you for my sis, rockan9el, for proofreading this story! You’re rock, sis! ^^v  
> Okay okay, I’ll keep this short! 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter, guys~

He looked up at the blue sky above him. His tears threatened to flow out from his hazel eyes. At least he was away from the others. No one would see if he cried, no one would witness how weak he was. Surely it shouldn’t be this bad, right? But why did he feel like falling down on the ground? Why did he feel like burying himself in the dirt?

_‘I’ve lost….’_

Why did he feel like something was prickling his heart?

_‘I… lost…’_

Why did he feel like… Crying?

 The practice match had ended with the score 100-98 in Seirin’s favor. Thanks to Kagami and Kuroko play coordination, Seirin managed to score their last points with a beater buzzer.

As soon as the whistle was blown, Kise excused himself to the outside of the gym. Usually after they had a game, Kise would cheerily approach Yukio’s sister to get his towel with Yoshitaka trailing behind, much to the captain’s displeasure. But this time… He faked his smile and walked away without meeting anyone’s gazes.

Yukio was observing him when Kise excused himself. He knew that it was the first time the blonde ever lost a match. But surely, he didn’t need to get that upset, did he? It was just a practice match after all, even if Yukio himself felt ashamed to be beaten by a newly formed basketball club like Seirin.

“Oi, Kise!” Yukio tried to call back the copycat blonde, only to get ignored.

Just when he was about to call Kise again, a small hand grabbed his elbow. Yukio looked beside him and found Kuroko looking at him while shaking her head.

“Let’s just approach him. I will help by talking to Kise-kun first.” The bluenette said before walking away to Kise’s direction.

Yukio sighed but followed the blue haired girl anyway.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

Yukina looked at the two disappearing figures. She was done giving towels to all of the regulars as well as harshly ignoring Moriyama’s attempt to get comforted by her over their lost game. She then sat down on the bench beside Midorima, who decided to sit there after Yukina offered him to because he was ushered away by Seirin’s coach for sitting on their bench.

“Is losing really that bad for you guys?” Yukina asked the greenette, who, at the moment, was pulling the strings on his tennis racquet.

“I don’t really know, I’ve never lost before. But people say that losing could make someone feel depressed because that’s just proof that they’re not good enough.”

“Then, are you also scared of losing?”

“Che, of course not. I’ve given all of my fate to God and I always bring my lucky item with me. There’s no way I’ll lose.”

“Hmmm… Then, I’ve lost my battle before because I haven’t given all of my fate to God? So, if I give it all and try again, will I win it this time?” Yukina asked while looking at the floor, purposely avoiding the greenette’s gaze.

To be quite honest, Midorima was shocked with the question that the raven haired girl beside him had asked. The thing had happened about a year ago, so he didn’t expect that the girl would bring it up at the moment, despite their attempt to avoid talking about it at all this year. “Kasamatsu…”

“But I think, losing doesn’t always make people feel despair, you know? Yes, all people would feel depressed when they lose, but they can become stronger because of that, and they will be a tough opponent in their next battle.” She faced Midorima with a smile on her face. “So I think I’ll try to battle again for the last time.”

A small smile began to appear on the greenette’s face. The girl in front of him was strong indeed. “You have become stronger, eh?” Just when he was about to say more, he caught a glimpse of a certain raven haired guy approaching them from behind Yukina’s back. “Seems like your admirer’s coming here.”

A deep frown immediately appeared on the girl’s face. “He is?! I’ve avoided him all this time!” She whispered to the shooting guard in front of her, which just shrugged.

“Here he comes.”

“Yukina-chaaaaaannnn~~!!!!” Moriyama glomped their manager. “It’s rude to ditch your future boyfriend like that, you know~?”

“Taka-nii, who said that I’ll be your girlfriend? And please get off of me.” The captain’s sister responded imitating her best friend’s deadpanned expression.

“Uwaaahhh, don’t be that mean, Yukina-chan!”

“Ehem.” Midorima faked a cough to gain the two people’s attention. “Apologize, but Kasamatsu-san and I have some matter to discuss.” He grabbed Yukina’s wrist gently and dragged her away so that the girl would be away from the third year’s grasp.

“Midorima-kun?” Yukina called out, definitely confused by her former friend’s action. But then she smiled when she finally understood what the greenette’s meant. “Thank you… For giving me one more chance…”

Midorima coughed again, but Yukina could see his ears turning red. “It’s not like I care or anything!”

“Hai hai, Tsundere-san.”

Meanwhile, Moriyama watched the two walked away with a deep scowl. “So, he’s my rival, eh?”

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

“Kise-kun.”

The blonde looked at the voice that called him. His tears were still flowing freely down his beautiful face when he saw Kuroko and Yukio approaching him.

“A-ah, Kurokocchi, Kasamatsu-senpai!” He tried to rub his tears away with his hands, but no matter what he did, his tears didn’t stop flowing. “Go-.. Gomen-ssu… I’ve tried to stop this, but… it won’t stop coming…” He bowed his head down to hide his face from his current and former teammates.

 _‘It’s not good… Not only that I’ve hurt Kurokocchi, she has to witness my current state… I-…’_ A pair of small arms enveloped him. They felt so warm, and it made the copycat want to cry some more.

“It’s okay, Kise-kun. You can cry as much as you want.” Kuroko’s soft voice felt so nice in his ears.

“B-but.. I don’t want to look.. so weak, especially in front of… Kurokocchi…” Kise whimpered. The warmth was too much for him to handle at the moment.

Kuroko hugged him tighter and buried his face even deeper to her shoulder. “Crying doesn’t mean that you’re weak, Kise-kun. You’re a strong one. But after this, I’m sure that you’d become much stronger. So, just let it all out and move on.”

And the dam broke. Kise locked his arms on Kuroko’s back and cried some more into her shoulder. The phantom girl didn’t even mind how tight the blonde hugged her. She rubbed Kise’s head and back, comforting him.

Yukio, who had been watching their interaction, could only wait until the blonde finished his crying. He was, after all, not good at comforting people. But he understood what pain Kise felt, because he himself had felt the same thing before. The sad feeling of being weak.

After some minutes, Kise stopped crying. He got away from Kuroko’s lithe form and rubbed his sore eyes. “I’m really sorry, Kurokocchi, I made your clothes wet…”

Kuroko smiled slightly and reached her hand up to wipe the remaining tears on Kise’s face. “I don’t really mind, Kise-kun. Don’t worry.”

Kise blushed by her action.

He then remembered something that made his eyes widened. “Kurokocchi, about the thing from middle school-…”

“I forgave you, Kise-kun.” Kuroko cut him off before he could say anything more. She drew her hand away and walked back to Kasamatsu’s side.

“But-…”

“Oi, Kise!” This time Kasamatsu was the one who cut him off. To be honest, Kise just remembered that his captain was there with them.

Yukio approached him with a frown on his face, which made Kise kind of cowered from the sight. He then smacked Kise’s head down.

“Ittai! Ittai-ssu yo, Senpai!”

“I don’t really care if this is your first lost or whatever it is. But, put a word ‘revenge’ on your dictionary, dammit! Train hard, become stronger, and get your damn revenge on them!”

Kasamatsu’s words gave back a glint of hope in Kise’s eyes. The copycat blonde then stared at his captain with amazement. “Hai, Senpai! I will do my best!”

 _‘Boys…’_ Kuroko smiled at the sight in front of her.

 

… - … - … - … - …

 

“Thank you for the good match today.” Yukio said while shaking hands with Hyuuga. “We will get our revenge in Inter-High.”

“Looking forward for it then.” Hyuuga smirked.

After saying their goodbye, Seirin’s basketball club members walked away from Kaijou High to get home along with Midorima.

“Aaahh, hungry~” Koganei exclaimed while they were walking down the street.

“Yeah… Let’s eat something…” Hyuuga added. They just had a rough match with Kaijou and it was wearing them down.

“Wait a minutes, guys. Take out all of your left money.” Riko ordered.

Everyone took out their remaining money, which only consisted of a few yens.

“Well, let’s just get home then.” Hyuuga sighed and resumed walking.

“I think I know how we can eat for free.” Riko chipped in.

Hearing that, all of Seirin’s members looked at Riko with hopeful eyes.

“I’m sorry but I’ll pass this time.” Kuroko said.

“Eh? Are you sure, Kuroko? You’re going to go home alone.” Izuki asked the female player of the team.

“Don’t worry, I have Shin-kun that will escort me home.” Kuroko pointed at Midorima, who stayed loyally on her side. “Jya, matta ne. Thank you for your good work today, minna-san.”

“Good bye.” “Be careful on your way, Kuroko-chan.” “See you tomorrow.”

Kuroko and Midorima then separated with the others.

On their way home, Kuroko took out her blue phone and typed something on it.

**_To           : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject: Today’s result_ **

**_We won from Kaijo today with 100-98. How’s senpai doing?_ **

After she clicked the send button, Kuroko looked up and noticed that her green haired friend seemed quieter today. Usually he would nag her after her game, especially when she was injured. But he was too quiet this time. She had a clue what caused her friend to quiet down like that, though.

“Talked to Yuki-chan today?”

Midorima immediately looked away from Kuroko to hide his face. “I-I don’t know what you are talking about!”

“Ah… So it’s true then.”

“I said I don’t know what you are talking about!” At last Midorima faced Kuroko with a fake frown on his face.

“Shin-kun, if you said ‘no’ then it means ‘yes’. It’s common knowledge for a tsundere.”

Midorima snorted and moved his gaze back to the front.

“About Akashi-…”

“Don’t tell Akashi-kun about my injury, please.”

The greenette was staring at the girl beside him with scrutinizing look, but Kuroko still stayed firm with her request. After some time, he sighed in defeat. “If you say so.”

Just then, Kuroko’s phone beeped indicating an incoming message. Kuroko flipped her phone open and smiled when she got a respond back.

**_From     : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject: Re: Today’s result_ **

**_I knew you guys can do it ;D I’m preparing for the ‘day’ atm_ **

“A message from your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Shin-kun.”

**_To           : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject: Re: Re: Today’s result_ **

**_Tomorrow?_ **

“Che. You said that.”

“Don’t be jealous, Shin-kun. You have an admirer already.”

Blush. “I’m not and I don’t have any!”

“Yes, yes.”

**_From     : Kiyoshi-senpai_ **

**_Subject: Re: Re: Re: Today’s result_ **

**_The day after tomorrow ^^v_ **


End file.
